Before and finally, After

A few weeks ago I posted photos of Leslie's room re-do, and asked for suggestions to help us organize her ONE bookcase in her teeny, tiny room. We finally completed the task last night.
What I WANTED to get for her room were these from Pottery Barn Teens ( (I LOVE that catalog, but never want to spend the bucks to buy anything in it....maybe someday when I am rich - HAHAHA). Today, however, when I downloaded that photo, I saw that these containers were actually on sale and I guess I could have perhaps purchased some of them.... oh well, too late. I couldn't WAIT.



I remembered I had seen some similar galvanized containers at Ikea recently, so I went there and bought what you see here.

My dear sweet daughter has a few learning disabilities, and one of them truly causes her great difficulties with organization. We have learned over the past several months that using colors is key to helping her organize school work, etc., and for us is quite a breakthrough (DANG, it took us long enough - she is 16!). So, my goal for her was to make sure EVERYTHING had a specific and labeled place. She told me that, visually, the best way to label her new containers was to have the backgrounds be different colors with the words being black. The smaller containers could have white backgrounds, but the words needed to be in bold colors. She associates the colors way before the words. That is how her brilliant mind works.

So, at Wally-World I bought some magnetic frames and created the tags that would fit inside. Since these are metal containers, it worked perfectly! When we change what is inside them, we can easily change the labels without ruining anything.

She is thrilled because it is easy; I am thrilled because it looks nice and will be very easy for her to maintain.

Under her daybed are still several other containers with her "stuff". There are tubs for scrapbook supplies, photos, keepsakes, and parakeet supplies. She knows that if she gets too much stuff and it won't fit any more in the containers, then something has to GO -the containers cannot overflow. That will help her to purge when needed. She needs the VISUAL to help her to complete organizing tasks, thanks to her learning disabilities.

We have decided to turn those into strengths. Ask us in a few months if this system worked - I pray it does!!

Organizer Chocolate

For all my organized and/or "organizer" friends, I discovered a new benefit to cleaning off your desk area. I have not been able to actually SEE the actual top of my desk for a few weeks due to all the stuff on it. So, I cleaned it tonight (while listening to AI and waiting for "The Office" to come on) . Look what I discovered in my drawer! Ah, delight - a little secret chocolate! Such a fun little surprise to reward my hard work. OH, and guess what I used those little trays for that I bought last week?? Yep - currently holding desk supplies. Who knew??

UPDATE --- OK, well, Erin knew....

Make that Home!

Our newly called apostle, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, told us during General Conference that LDS women are “makers of the home”. I loved that! I am a MAKER of a HOME.

When we were first married, I taught school for three years while we anxiously waited for our babies to come. We tried to save most of what I made and then adjust to living on Richard’s income as much as possible (believe me, as a Federal worker, it wasn’t much!!). We planned carefully that way so that I could stay home when a baby FINALLY came along. When baby boy came, I quit teaching school that very day. I was now a HOMEMAKER. Homemaker? Hmm…. That didn’t fit me. It seemed like an old-fashioned term, and I didn’t feel like an old- fashioned woman.

So, every time I had to fill out a form where I had to put “occupation”, I would write “Stay at Home Mom”, or “Full-time Mom”. Even though I have always done a little part-time job here and there, I emphatically told Richard that when people asked him what his wife did, he could NOT say I was a Homemaker. Sometimes we would try to be funny and would say or write “Domestic Engineer” or “Domestic Goddess”.

Times have changed. Mormon wives don’t always have the option to be a stay-at-home mom in order for their families to make ends meet. Some of them don’t choose that anyway. Some women choose to “stay home”, but don’t do much with that opportunity to truly nurture and teach their children. I haven't always been perfect at that myself. I am not here to judge. I am just grateful for the way our lives have been blessed by the choices we made in that department. It even matters more now as we still raise our teenage daughter.

So, back to my original point – All women, single or married, working out of the home, working in the home, staying at home,

we can all be the MAKER of the home.

That little phrase should put to rest all the arguments and jealousies regarding this “issue” amongst LDS women.